The Complexity Era in Economics

This article argues that the neoclassical era in economics has ended and is being replaced by a new era. What best characterizes the new era is its acceptance that the economy is complex, and thus that it might be called the complexity era. The complexity era has not arrived through a revolution. Instead, it has evolved out of the many strains of neoclassical work, along with work done by less orthodox mainstream and heterodox economists. It is only in its beginning stages. The article discusses the work that is forming the foundation of the complexity era, and how that work will likely change the way in which we understand economic phenomena and the economics profession.

Live and Dead Issues in the Methodology of Economics

We attempt to clarify divisions made by us in previous work (Colander et al., 2004a,b) between “orthodox, mainstream, and heterodox” in economics, following very useful remarks in Dequech (2007), whom we thank. We also provide specific advice for heterodox economists, namely: worry less about methodology, focus on being economists first and heterodox economists second, and prepare ideas to leave the incubator of heterodoxy to enter the mainstream economic debate.

Sleep-Disordered Breathing Affects Auditory Processing in 5–7 Year-Old Children: Evidence From Brain Recordings

Poor sleep in children is associated with lower neurocognitive functioning and increased maladaptive behaviors. The current study examined the impact of snoring (the most common manifestation of sleep-disordered breathing) on cognitive and brain functioning in a sample of 35 asymptomatic children ages 5–7 years identified in the community as having habitual snoring (SDB). All participants completed polysomnographic, neurocognitive (NEPSY) and psychophysiological (ERPs to speech sounds) assessments. The results indicated that sub-clinical levels of SDB may not necessarily lead to reduced performance on standardized behavioral measures of attention and memory. However, brain indices of speech perception and discrimination (N1/P2) are sensitive to individual differences in the quality of sleep. We postulate that addition of ERPs to the standard clinical measures of sleep problems could lead to early identification of children who may be more cognitively vulnerable because of chronic sleep disturbances

Mutual use of trail-following chemical cues by a termite host and its inquiline

Termite nests are often secondarily inhabited by other termite species ( = inquilines) that cohabit with the host. To understand this association, we studied the trail-following behaviour in two Neotropical species, Constrictotermes cyphergaster (Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae) and its obligatory inquiline, Inquilinitermes microcerus (Termitidae: Termitinae). Using behavioural experiments and chemical analyses, we determined that the trail-following pheromone of C. cyphergaster is made of neocembrene and (3Z,6Z,8E)-dodeca-3,6,8-trien-1-ol. Although no specific compound was identified in I. microcerus, workers were able to follow the above compounds in behavioural bioassays. Interestingly, in choice tests, C. cyphergaster prefers conspecific over heterospecific trails while I. microcerus shows the converse behaviour. In no-choice tests with whole body extracts, C. cyphergaster showed no preference for, while I. microcerus clearly avoided heterospecific trails. This seems to agree with the hypothesis that trail-following pheromones may shape the cohabitation of C. cyphergaster and I. microcerus and reinforce the idea that their cohabitation is based on conflict-avoiding strategies

Optomechanical scheme for the detection of weak impulsive forces

We show that a cooling scheme and an appropriate quantum nonstationary strategy can be used to improve the signal to noise ratio for the optomechanical detection of weak impulsive forces.Comment: 4 pages, Revtex, 1 figur

Debuncher cooling performance

We present measurements of the Fermilab Debuncher momentum and transverse cooling systems. These systems use liquid helium cooled waveguide pickups and slotted waveguide kickers covering the frequency range 4-8 GHz

Large-scale Bright Fronts in the Solar Corona: A Review of "EIT waves"

``EIT waves" are large-scale coronal bright fronts (CBFs) that were first observed in 195 \AA\ images obtained using the Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) onboard the \emph{Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)}. Commonly called ``EIT waves", CBFs typically appear as diffuse fronts that propagate pseudo-radially across the solar disk at velocities of 100--700 km s$^{-1}$ with front widths of 50-100 Mm. As their speed is greater than the quiet coronal sound speed ($c_s\leq$200 km s$^{-1}$) and comparable to the local Alfv\'{e}n speed ($v_A\leq$1000 km s$^{-1}$), they were initially interpreted as fast-mode magnetoacoustic waves ($v_{f}=(c_s^2 + v_A^2)^{1/2}$). Their propagation is now known to be modified by regions where the magnetosonic sound speed varies, such as active regions and coronal holes, but there is also evidence for stationary CBFs at coronal hole boundaries. The latter has led to the suggestion that they may be a manifestation of a processes such as Joule heating or magnetic reconnection, rather than a wave-related phenomena. While the general morphological and kinematic properties of CBFs and their association with coronal mass ejections have now been well described, there are many questions regarding their excitation and propagation. In particular, the theoretical interpretation of these enigmatic events as magnetohydrodynamic waves or due to changes in magnetic topology remains the topic of much debate.Comment: 34 pages, 19 figure

A One-Hour Sleep Restriction Impacts Brain Processing in Young Children Across Tasks: Evidence From Event-related Potentials

The effect of mild sleep restriction on cognitive functioning in young children is unclear, yet sleep loss may impact children\u27s abilities to attend to tasks with high processing demands. In a preliminary investigation, six children (6.6 - 8.3 years of age) with normal sleep patterns performed three tasks: attention (“Oddball”), speech perception (conconant-vowel syllables) and executive function (Directional Stroop). Event-related potentials (ERP) responses were recorded before (Control) and following one-week of 1-hour per day of sleep restriction. Brain activity across all tasks following Sleep Restriction differed from activity during Control Sleep, indicating that minor sleep restriction impacts children\u27s neurocognitive functioning

Making spherical GEMs

We developed a method to make GEM foils with a spherical geometry. Tests of this procedure and with the resulting spherical GEMs are presented. Together with a spherical drift electrode, a spherical conversion gap for x-rays can be formed. This would eliminate the parallax error in an x-ray diffraction setup, which limits the spatial resolution at wide diffraction angles. The method is inexpensive and flexible towards possible changes in the design. We show advanced plans to make a prototype of an entirely spherical triple-GEM detector, including a spherical readout structure. This detector will have a superior position resolution, also at wide diffraction angles, and a high rate capability. A completely spherical gaseous detector has never been made before.Comment: Contribution to the proceedings of the MPGD'09 conference, Cret